


In Quiet Rooms

by shirosquared



Series: Chasing All the Stars (400-700 Follower Celebration) [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Late Night Conversations, Romantic if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-13
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2019-03-04 12:33:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13364793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shirosquared/pseuds/shirosquared
Summary: Hunk needs some quiet time after a long day.Shiro seemed to have the same idea.





	In Quiet Rooms

**Author's Note:**

> **Anonymous asked:** how about something like shunk + meeting in the library late at night?  <3 romantic or platonic is up to you ofc!
> 
> * * *
> 
> I hope you enjoy it! I started writing it and it just ended up being platonic, though if you squinted you could read it as romantic.

Hunk was exhausted.

All day, the team had been planetside for diplomatic relations, and in the end the planet didn't even decide to join the coalition. Neutrality gave them benefits, and all that.

But he just had to grit his teeth and deal with it, because they would've been a valuable ally. Yet, their king had said from the beginning that it was better for his people to stay neutral. So why did they spend their day trying to convince someone who wouldn’t listen?

Hunk didn't understand it at all. Why couldn't the king have just said he wasn't interested, and send them on their way? Because it wasn't “appropriate,” Allura had said.

It didn't make any sense. He sighed to himself and put his hand on a panel, opening the door beside it. Inside wasn't the kitchen, but a room filled with books—the library, maybe? Maybe he'd taken a wrong turn on his way to the kitchen. But now that he was here, he might as well take advantage of it.

Plenty of books adorned the shelves, though all of them were labeled in Altean. A few pads rested on the tables scattered around the room, presumably for reading at. One of them looked like it'd been thrown down in a hurry, which was a bit unsettling, but otherwise it was just a dusty old library.

Maybe they had some decent audiobooks on the tablets. He sat at one of the tables, grabbing the pad there and—it was all in Altean. Luckily, the interface was easy enough to navigate, and soon he was listening to some romance audiobook through the pad’s speakers.

At least it was something to focus on other than his own thoughts. But he was exhausted, maybe he could just close his eyes for a few minutes…

When he opened them again, the library was silent and dark. Had he slept long enough for the book to finish? A quick glance around suggested otherwise. Shiro sat at another table, earbuds sticking out of his ears while he squinted at the screen. The light from it illuminated his face, bright enough to probably hurt. Maybe that was his goal.

Hunk’s headband had also been taken off, and was left neatly folded on the table in front of him. Had that been Shiro’s doing? Probably. He yawned lightly, making his way over to the door console and flicking the lights on.

Shiro looked up from his pad when the lights brightened, taking his earbuds out so he could carry a proper conversation. “Hey,” he greeted. “Did you sleep well?”

Hunk frowned. It had to be late at night by now, right? He’d probably slept for at least two hours, and it was already getting late when they got back. “You aren't.”

Shiro sighed. “Couldn't. So I came here, but it seems like you had the same idea.”

“You're not going to get any sleep with the brightness turned up like that.”

“I don't know how to turn it down.”

“Coran showed us all how to do it. Look, if you don't want to talk, just say so. You don't need to lie all the time.”

“I’m trying to learn Altean,” Shiro said without a pause. “The program Pidge used isn't very… relaxing.”

Hunk couldn't help the snort, remembering Pidge telling them about it. “Yeah, I can't imagine it being that. Maybe it was built that way. Why are you trying to learn Altean?”

“It's a good baseline to learn Galran script.” Shiro stood from his chair and stretched. “I paused your book for you, but you might not want to play that in public. I think Coran had a stash of those… novels that you accidentally found.”

“‘Those novels?’” Hunk got the idea, but it was fun to see Shiro stumble over something mundane. “And thanks for the heads up, I honestly just picked a random title. Just wanted something to listen to.”

“To calm down?” Shiro guessed. “To focus on something other than the thoughts in your head?”

Hunk nodded. “Yeah. It's probably stupid.”

“Nothing you're feeling is stupid, Hunk. Your feelings aren't stupid.”

“Then why do you always ignore your own?” The words came out before Hunk could stop them, and it left behind a heavy regret. “I—that was uncalled for, I'm sorry.”

“No, it wasn't.” Shiro picked up the pad and his headphones. “We should both get to bed. We've got another meeting in the morning. But if you want… I come here a lot at night. Maybe we can talk then?”

Hunk took the dismissal for what it was and nodded. “At least leave the pad here. It'll still be there when you come back, and there's a ton around the Castle as it is. The light is harsh on your eyes.”

Shiro chuckled. “Alright. Goodnight, Hunk.” He set the pad on the table, not looking quite as tense as he had been a moment ago.

“Are you not coming back to the rooms with me?” Hunk felt bad for asking, but he knew Shiro needed the sleep. “I know you get nightmares, but any sleep is better than no sleep. And just like you always tell us, my door is always open to you. If you want to talk, or hug, or cuddle—no strings attached, Lance and I have cuddled and we're still just friends—or even just sit there, that's totally fine.”

Shiro smiled. “Thank you, Hunk. I really appreciate the offer.”

“Anytime, Shiro.” Hunk smiled. “So, do you want to come back with me? It's okay if you don't want to, but don't feel like you  _ have _ to do one thing or another.”

“I should—”

“That's not what I asked.”

Shiro blinked, caught off guard. “What do you mean?”

“I asked if you  _ wanted _ to come back, not if you  _ should _ . What do you have to do that can't wait until the morning?”

“As soon as we can create a translator for Galra script, we’ll be able to see everything that's going on when we interface with their systems, or even just directions. The sooner, the better.”

Hunk sighed. “That can wait a few hours while you sleep. If you keep going while you're tired, you won't remember any of it.”

Shiro couldn't argue with the logic, so he nodded. “Alright. Let's head back, then.”

The two left the library and headed back to their shared hallway, bidding each other good night before entering their own rooms. The meeting thankfully went smoothly, but they still met in the library the next night. 

They didn't talk about anything important, but it was nice to be able to get to know the Shiro that existed behind the walls of responsibility and pain. Hunk treasured those moments, the times when Shiro would laugh so hard he snorted—then laughed harder—or the time he did a perfect impression of Commander Iverson. Hunk would never forget them.

Eventually, maybe he would ask Shiro about deeper things. But for now, what they had was more than enough.


End file.
